From the Bookshelf: Clutter’s Last Stand by Don Aslett

Non-Fiction: Home Care. Paperback from Writer’s Digest Books. Published in 1984. Purchased at Chamblin BookMine, Jacksonville, Florida. (A most excellent used book store. Worthy of a trip to Florida, IMHO.) 275 pages.

I got started reading Don Aslett for his excellent books on keeping house – how to clean effectively and organize in such a way that cleaning is easier. I then went through a faze of reading de-cluttering books, and Aslett’s Clutter’s Last Stand has some very good advice. In addition to just telling you “de-junk” he talks about the negative effects that too much stuff can have on your life. Then he gives guidelines for how you can scrutinize you things and decide what stays and what goes. Some excellent principles to consider.

Publisher’s summary:If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you need this book:
– Do you live in fear that someone you respect may someday open one of your closets?
– Have you ever threatened to bodily harm anyone who opens a drawer in front of company?
– Do you wait until after dark to pull your car into the garage?
– Have you ever finally replaced a broken part — then kept the broken part?

Save your sanity — not your sacks, souvenirs, and old worn-out shoes. In Clutter’s Last Stand, Don Aslett shows how clutter can begin to crowd not only our basements and attics, b ut also our relationships and our personal growth. He gives us the courage to sift, sort, and toss whatever is hazardous to our housekeeping and mental health.

Through anecdotes, charts, cartoons, quizzes, and “bumper snickers”, Aslett humorously delves into the full range of junk areas (home, car, office, wardrobe … even friendships), pinpointing the problem areas and offering practical ideas for getting rid of unnecessary clutter and cutting it off at its source.

Inside you’ll find:
– a Junkee Entrance Exam that helps you judge how bad your junk problem is
– a list of “101 Feeble Excuses for Hanging Onto Junk” that you can laugh at — and learn from
– detailed guidelines for judging junk– both your own and others’
– hundreds of practical ideas for getting rid of clutter — and for storing what you really should keep

For all who have waged war on clutter and lost, here is the inspiration to get the job done once and for all.